


No Shelter

by Vipersweb (Rhianona)



Series: Ashes in the Fall [2]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003), Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Ashes in the Fall, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-01-25
Updated: 2008-01-25
Packaged: 2017-10-08 20:29:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/79246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhianona/pseuds/Vipersweb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternate POV for Chapter 2 of Ashes in the Fall.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Shelter

It was supposed to be a simple mission, Major Evan Lorne thought to himself as chaos erupted above. The whine of Wraith darts echoed above him, adding to the noise and confusion on the ground. The gunfire of his men joined those of the villagers, while men, women and children ran screaming towards the woods that surrounded their homes. Dr. Zelenka was somewhere in that pandemonium and Lorne hoped that he would be found soon because he sure as hell didn't want to explain to Dr. McKay how his team had lost McKay's 2IC. Johnson had been watching the doctor as he had continued the repairs Atlantis had agreed to in exchange for some Ancient tech and foodstuffs. Unfortunately, as soon as the Wraith appeared overhead, the village had erupted like ants from an anthill and the doc had become separated from Johnson. Something must have happened to his radio because he wasn't responding to any hails. As Lorne scanned the village, hoping to see the missing scientist, he only hoped the doc didn't get scooped up by the Wraith.

"Nichols, get to the Jumper. As soon as the gate is free, dial home and get reinforcements, medical supplies – standard S&amp;R gear. We'll need to move fast once the Wraith are gone," he ordered. "Timmons, Johnson, spread out, head to the woods and see if you can find the doc." Lorne grimaced, his P-90 at the ready as he headed deeper in the woods, flinching as the whine of the Wraith darts droned above him. This was so not a good day!

***  
As Doctor Radek Zelenka stumbled through the woods, his radio long gone, but his laptop clutched protectively to his chest, he reflected that this was precisely why he hated going off world. Yes, when he got back, he would make sure Rodney knew his displeasure, would ensure that he would never go off world again, unless it was to return to Earth. He ignored the quiet voice inside him that insisted on reminding him that he had been the only one besides Rodney capable of repairing the devices of the villagers and that Rodney would have been here if Colonel Sheppard's team had not been forced to go on another mission. It was much… nicer to simply lay the blame for this at Rodney's feet. Much simpler to keep the fear at bay than to acknowledge that he might very well die. He shuddered as the Wraith darts whined above, hoped that he would not stumble upon any drones as he tried to remember where exactly the Jumper was hidden. He had been separated from the Marine guarding him, which was unfortunate because he rather thought that the man would know where to go. Now he was alone, with a laptop and a nine-millimeter to protect himself. It was not good.

As he ran, trying to avoid the roots and other detritus on the ground, he felt some respect for Rodney. By all accounts, Rodney did this nearly every time he went through the gate. He seemed to thrive off the almost surefire danger he encountered. Radek, on the other hand, had not signed on for certain death, or for running for his life. (Of course, he was conveniently forgetting that he had agreed to return to Atlantis after the Replicators were destroyed. Truth was, there was nothing like Atlantis and Pegasus and if he had not returned, he would have regretted it the whole of his life.)

He had never been outside of Atlantis during a Wraith attack; he found the mirages they sent to confuse their prey frightening as they worked in tandem with the noise of the darts above, the white culling beams appearing and dissipating before him, to his right, to his left, and he is certain, behind him if he were to look. He cursed in Czech as he hoped he didn't get scooped up. If he pushed forward, continued to try and make for the jumper, he had a chance of making it; the best-case scenario was if he could find someplace to hide, to avoid the Wraith and their ships until they were gone.

***  
Lorne cursed under his breath as he realized the futility of continuing to search for the doc with the Wraith doing their best to ensure that the population of this planet didn't survive. "Johnson, Timmons, head back to the Jumper. We're useless like this. Let's hope the doc finds his way to the jumper." Two yes sirs later he and his men make their separate ways to the jumper. As each person appeared inside, Nichols gave a hopeful look, hoping it was the missing scientist. Sadly, it was not their luck. They could only hope that Dr. Zelenka managed to evade the Wraith.

Each of them knew that the Wraith could remain on a planet for mere minutes or for hours on end. It looked like the latter, which didn't bode well for anyone in Pegasus, least of all the poor souls snatched. It also likely meant that unless the doc had hidden away with the rest of the villagers, they were going to be facing some very unhappy people when they returned to Atlantis.

"Sir!" Nichols interrupted, "the gate has disengaged. Should I begin the dialing sequence?"

"Get on it and get those S&amp;R teams here ASAP!" Lorne ordered. "Johnson, with me. Let's see if the Wraith are still around."

Exiting the jumper, the two did a quick survey of the surrounding area. The darts appeared to be gone; there were not any immediate signs of life. Lorne indicated that Johnson should go to the right. As he headed to the left, he hoped he would find the doc before McKay and Sheppard arrived. God damn it! It was just supposed to be an easy mission.

***

Radek ran through the woods, his breath harsh in his ears. He was acutely aware of every sound he made, every sound that surrounded him. It had been years since he had last been this aware of his environment, not since his mandatory service days.

He didn't really like the feeling. Too many bad memories.

He had thought he was running in the right direction, but he also thought he should have come up on the jumper by now. He suspected he was horribly lost and even as he's cursing Rodney and his team and the zatracený Wraith he heard what he had been dreading ever since Rodney had told him to pack up and join Major Lorne's team this morning. He risked a glance behind him to confirm his fears. "Do prdele! " he cursed as he saw one of the Wraith warriors stalking him. It gave him enough incentive to run faster. No longer did he aim for stealth – instead he crashed through the underbrush, looking frantically for anyone who might help, trying to stay out of range of the Wraith. The only thing about this situation that worked in his favor was the lack of stun gun carried by the one following him. It at least gave him a small chance.

***  
"… can't believe your jarheads lost Radek! How incompetent are they?" Lorne can hear Dr. McKay long before SGA-1 came into view.

"Now Rodney, I'm sure they didn't mean to lose Dr. Zelenka," Teyla said, trying to placate his companion. That it was Teyla and not Sheppard told Lorne that his CO was pissed at him. He couldn't really blame him; Dr. Zelenka had been his responsibility and he had been with the SGC long enough to have ensured his scientist stayed safe. That it was Dr. Zelenka and not say… Kavanaugh made it worse. Everyone actually liked Zelenka.

Lorne waited for Sheppard and his team to join him; his own men had started to quarter the area, looking for their missing scientist and the villagers. "Sir," he said as Sheppard stopped in front of him.

"Major Lorne," Sheppard began, "What happened here?" His voice was quiet, almost casual but Lorne knew better than to believe the Colonel wouldn't listen closely to the chain of events. Lorne didn't waste any time and quickly summarized the situation.

"McKay? Have you managed to get a handle on Zelenka's chip yet?" Sheppard asked. Lorne was relieved; all of the expedition members had a subcutaneous chip and if McKay had brought the right equipment, they could simply follow the signal to Zelenka.

"Yes, yes," McKay snapped out. Looking at his data pad, he tapped it a few more times before jabbing a finger towards the west. "He's that way."

Sheppard clapped McKay on the shoulder. "All right. Lorne, I want you and your men to join us; Stackhouse, take your team and secure the gate area. You're going to coordinate the other teams as they so S&amp;R for the villagers. I want everyone to keep in close radio contact."

The teams set out to work even as Ronon took point, followed by McKay as he directed the Satedan towards Zelenka. The quiet murmur of the others' reports echoed in their ears as they entered the forest and headed out to find their missing scientist.

***

On the one hand, Radek was pleased to see that he still had some small amount of stamina for running to save his life; on the other, he hadn't realized how out of shape he actually was. He panted for air, felt like needles were jabbing his lungs as he struggled to keep ahead of the Wraith. That he was in forest didn't help, considering the trees just added an additional obstacle to his flight. His leg muscles screamed in pain as he pushed himself forward, no longer even sure of what direction he ran.

He burst through the trees and entered a clearing. He rushed ahead to the other side; even as he did, he felt a hand trying to grip his shoulder. He wrenched himself away, cursing in Czech, praying to God that he could get away. He turned and saw to his dread the Wraith. He backed away slowly, clutching his laptop to his chest as if it afforded him protection. He supposed the grimace on the thing's face was a smile. It moved gracefully towards him, hunting him, playing with him as if it was a cat and he a mouse.

So focused was he on what he was sure was his impending death, that he completely failed to register the appearance of a third person to the glade. The Wraith stalked closer to him and Radek could feel the trees against his back.

He was only mildly surprised that he was to meet his end at the hand of a Wraith. Ever since he had come to Pegasus and had found out about the Wraith, he had rather assumed that would be his end. It was therefore, a bit of a surprise when he heard a yell and something barreled straight into the Wraith, impeding its progress and taking it to the forest floor. He blinked owlishly as some stranger began to punch at the Wraith. He yelled at the person, telling him to get away before the Wraith killed him. His savior seemed content to ignore him as he dodged a swipe by the Wraith.

While grateful that the Wraith was now focused on someone else, Radek did not feel comfortable abandoning him. He watched helplessly as the Wraith barely reacted to the bullets he fired into it, gasped as he went flying into a tree. He gasped as the stranger picked himself up off the ground and, faced off against the Wraith with a knife he had pulled from behind his back. The incongruous sight was enough to pull Radek out of the stupor into which he had fallen and he grabbed his own sidearm. He took careful aim as the Wraith fell upon the stranger, ready to feed, watched as the stranger scrambled backwards for his knife.

He pulled the trigger; the Wraith jerked as bullets once again entered it. It tore its attention away from its nearest prey to glare at Radek. It was enough time for the stranger to grab the knife, spring up and land on the Wraith's back. It looked like he was trying to slit it's throat but the Wraith wasn't happy with its passenger. The stranger was thrown over its head; Radek winced at the sound he made when he connected with the ground. He looked around desperately, hoping to find some sort of weapon to aid in the fight against the stranger. He couldn't see anything remotely helpful and cursed that he didn't have an extra gun with him.

The Wraith pulled the stranger towards him, straddled him as it resisted the stranger's attempts to dislodge it. It almost playfully reached with its hand towards the stranger's chest. Radek closed his eyes, cursing God that he couldn't help.

***

Ronon had set out at a brisk clip. The sooner Dr. Zelenka was found, the sooner they could leave. Without McKay's directions, the pace would have been much slower and perhaps even more harrowing. The signal they followed indicated that the doctor was still alive – they emitted a different frequency if the host was dead.

They pushed through the forest; as they went, they could see evidence of Dr. Zelenka's flight: a branch snapped here; leaves scuffed up over there. They all had their P-90s ready – just in case.

They heard some shouting up ahead and they followed Ronon as he broke into a run, a feral grin on his face. They burst into a clearing and saw a Wraith clearly about to feed on someone. Without waiting for orders, they all opened fire. The Wraith collapsed on top of its victim.

Sheppard sent the marines to secure the perimeter. Ronon and Lorne headed towards the Wraith to make sure it was dead while Rodney and Teyla met Dr. Zelenka as he came towards them. Surveying the clearing, he decided that it would be foolish to force them all to walk back towards the jumper, especially if this Wraith wasn't alone on the ground. He radioed Stackhouse to bring the jumper to them and to send all but one of the S&amp;R teams back to Atlantis. That team would remain here and help the villagers recover.

He smiled as Dr. Zelenka came up to him, Rodney and Teyla behind him. Teyla had her P-90 ready should anyone or anything surprise them, her eyes scanning the clearing and surrounding area. "How you doing Dr. Zelenka?" he asked, smiling that they had found their missing person.

"Fine, fine, Colonel. That person saved me," Radek responded, his neck craning to watch as Lorne and Ronon heaved the corpse off the person beneath.

"Do you know who it is?" Teyla asked softly.

"No. He came out of nowhere and went after the Wraith," Radek told them. Sheppard raised an eyebrow in interest. It wasn't often that someone in the Pegasus galaxy acted like that. Most were convinced that the Wraith were invincible, even as word spread of the Atlantis expedition's success in taking out whole hiveships. He wondered what planet the person came from and if there were others like him. They could use people like that.

They all turned as Ronon let out a bark of laughter as he helped the stranger to his – or rather her feet. Taking a closer look it became apparent that Dr. Zelenka's savior had far too many curves to be a man. Lorne watched as she winced while trying to put weight on her right leg and figured she had at least one serious injury that would need to be looked at by a doctor. He looked up at Sheppard drew near with Dr. Zelenka, Teyla and Rodney.

"Thank you," Dr. Zelenka said as he grasped the stranger's hand in his to shake it. For her part, she looked at him with wild eyes and looked skittish. As the others offered their thanks, Ronon noticed that a small frown settled on her face before vanishing quickly; he thought maybe he had imagined it. He shrugged. If she were a danger, he would take her out, irregardless of her saving Dr. Zelenka's life. She smiled tentatively as Sheppard offered her a trip back to Atlantis to get her wounds checked out by Carson.

The jumper arrived in the clearing, startling her. She seemed to watch everything with wide eyes. Ronon made sure to collect her weapons for her even as Major Lorne offered to assist her into the jumper. Rodney was still babbling with Dr. Zelenka over what repairs he had managed to get done before the Wraith had decided to visit. The cadence of their familiar style of bickering flowed over Ronon, as the jumper rose to the air and headed back to the gate. The stranger sat stiff and nervous and probably pain as it did so. He wondered where she was from. Someone like her, who would try to take out a Wraith single-handedly with nothing more than a pistol and a knife, was someone he wanted to know better. He suspected Sheppard felt the same way and would convince Weir to let her stay on Atlantis.

***

That night, as Lorne typed out his AAR, he pondered the mystery of Dr. Zelenka's savior. She had yet to utter a word. Or at least nothing that they could understand. He looked up at the knock on his door. "Come in!" he called out and smiled as he saw it was Dr. Zelenka. "Dr. Zelenka," he said in greeting. "How are you feeling?" He had meant to go down to the labs and make sure the doctor was okay; he knew the man hated going off world and today had probably not helped to encourage him to do so again.

"Major Lorne," Radek replied. "I wanted to thank you for trying to find me."

Lorne looked embarrassed. He had just done his duty and besides, it had been his fault for not ensuring the escorts knew to keep Dr. Zelenka with them at times. "Not a problem Doctor. I'm just sorry it took us so long."

Radek smiled at that. He had been so sure he was going to die and to not have done so still astonished him. "I do not think I will go off world again, not any time soon," he told the major with a wry grin. The major smiled widely in response.

"No Doc, I had guessed you wouldn't."

Dr. Zelenka left, headed back to the labs and Lorne finished his report. In the end, they had found their missing scientist, without a loss of life and that was what counted. Especially out here.


End file.
